[JoeD]

Originally Posted by EowynCarter

Unless i'm stupid enough to put the books where i removed DRM on the internet for everyone to download, how's gonna sue me for this anyway ?

It's not just a matter of being sued. Whilst it remains covered by the DMCA it means we can't help you/others remove DRM to make use of books/films you legally purchased but for whatever reason cannot use on the same device anymore (or the company running DRM servers no longer activates new devices for you).

You see that effect on here every time there's a nudge nudge Alf wink wink comment. Making it legal to remove DRM but keeping copyright infringement illegal would likely (depending how they word things) mean help/discussions were no longer dodgy. It may even make removal tools legal and only the usage of those tools determining whether something is legal/illegal, which imo is how it should be. Perhaps even making it legal for commercial apps to support ripping/removal/conversion just as apps do for CD to MP3/AAC.

Maybe it won't, but a step in the right direction is still a step :P

I agree that for you and many others already in the know about DRM/Removal, nothing much would change. Unless you broadcast it on the net for all to hear about it's unlikely anyone would ever know or care anyway. However, for others, I think it would change things for the better.

Whispersync can work without drm, no problem there.

I'll also confirm that. I use it with all the Baen books I've bought and read via my kindle/iphone/ipad. I believe it also works if you free an amazon book, but as mentioned below, I see no reason to bother doing that as long as the DRM version still works.

Originally Posted by meeera

I'm pretty sure that most people who follow the ins and outs of copyright law will be aware not to fiddle too much with books they're trying to sync through proprietary systems. And if they're not, they can always re-download any books they've deDRMed if they run into problems. I really don't get why you think this is a dealbreaker.

I agree. Just because you're given a rope doesn't mean you have to make a noose.

I free all my purchases and keep a backup for future use. However, unless I need that backup for a particular reason such as conversion to a new format for an incompatible device, I just stick to using the official Amazon version, protection and all, for day to day use. While it doesn't get in the way of my use, I ignore it. When it does get in the way, I've got my backup.

If it's legal to remove DRM then guides will appear informing people how to do it, what the implications are and how to have the best of both worlds. If people still want to hang themselves and complain after the fact, well they can always go back to never removing DRM and nothing changes for them.

Edit: The skeptic in me feels that this won't go beyond the proposal stages though. Wasn't jailbreaking recently removed as an exception?